Wings 15 Nobl airplanesMay Communi Link There Aviation 1939 at the Philadelphia Flight beginning Hartranft Smith Pilots airplan Wings Ludingto Sharples Aviat Wolf1939 airplanes Smith Noble Ludington Being present at AOPA's creation BY THOMAS A. HORNE I L LU S T R AT I O N B Y J E R O M E L A R R I G U E THE PYLON CLUB-a flying club based at Patco Field in Norristown, Pennsylvania-was having another of its fly-outs. This one was to a private island in the Saint Lawrence River, owned by brothers Philip T. and Laurence P. Sharples, industrialists specializing in the manufacture of centrifuges. For unknown reasons, the Sharples brothers got lost en route and took a while to sort things out. By the time they neared the island it was becoming dark, so they landed at a friend's airport and spent the night. That friend was Edwin Link, the inventor of the Link trainer. Link's houseguest was Edward J. Noble, soon to become the chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA), the forerunner of the Federal Aviation Administration. It was autumn 1937. www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | 59http://www.aopa.org/pilot